Second suspect arrested in Indian child rape case

NEW YORK TIMES

April 22, 2013

Photo: Manish Swarup, STF

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Pinky Devi's son, Ravi Shankar, disappeared three years ago in New Delhi, India. Ravi is among the more than 90,000 children who go missing in India each year. More than 34,000 of them are never found, the government said last year. less

Pinky Devi's son, Ravi Shankar, disappeared three years ago in New Delhi, India. Ravi is among the more than 90,000 children who go missing in India each year. More than 34,000 of them are never found, the ... more

Photo: Manish Swarup, STF

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With his face covered, Pradeep Kumar, a 19-year-old garment factory worker, is taken away by police after he was arrested on Monday in Lakhisarai District, Bihar state, India. Kumar was arrested in the rape of a 5-year-old girl. less

With his face covered, Pradeep Kumar, a 19-year-old garment factory worker, is taken away by police after he was arrested on Monday in Lakhisarai District, Bihar state, India. Kumar was arrested in the rape of ... more

Photo: STR

Second suspect arrested in Indian child rape case

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NEW DELHI - The police arrested a second suspect in the rape and torture of a 5-year-old girl Monday and announced that the number of reported rapes in New Delhi had more than doubled since December, while molesting cases had risen sixfold.

The second suspect, Pradeep Kumar, 19, was arrested in the eastern state of Bihar, where the first suspect, Manoj Kumar, was found early Saturday morning. The two men are not related. Pradeep Kumar was arrested after being implicated by Manoj Kumar in the rape of the girl, according to Indian news reports.

Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar told a news conference Monday that the increase in the number of reported sex crimes in New Delhi was a measure of how much more seriously the police took such reports since the gang rape of a medical student in December had led to widespread protests and the enactment of a new rape law. In addition to a sharp rise in the number of reported rape and molestation cases, cases of sexual harassment have risen more than sevenfold, he said.

'Mental sickness'

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Parents rejected, then bribed

Police offered $37 for silence: The parents of the 5-year-old rape victim said that after their daughter disappeared, they repeatedly begged police to register a complaint and begin a search, but they were rejected. Three days later, neighbors heard the sound of a child crying from a locked room in the tenement. They broke down the door and rushed the brutalized girl to the police station. The parents said the police response was to offer the couple $37 to keep quiet about what had happened.

New victims ranging in age 2 to15: Indian officials reported Monday that they were looking into at least three other rapes of minors in New Delhi over a one-week period, with victims ranging in age from 2 to 15.

34,000 children never found: More than 90,000 children go missing in India each year; more than 34,000 are never found.

From wire reports

Protesters besieged police headquarters for the third day Monday, demanding the commissioner's resignation. But the officer said he had no plans to quit.

"If my resigning could prevent such depraved actions of society, I would resign 1,000 times," he said. "The problem is one of mental depravity. The problem is one of mental sickness. And that will not be sorted out by anyone resigning, least of all the leader of the police force."

Neeraj Kumar dismissed the idea that police officers could have prevented the assault on the 5-year-old or, indeed, could prevent most rapes.

97% of rapes at home

"Rapes are opportunistic crimes committed within the confines of private spaces," he said. "Ninety-seven percent are committed within homes; 3 percent by strangers."

Neeraj Kumar then listed the relationships between the victim and rapist in cases that are now being investigated, and they included fathers, ex-husbands, cousins, neighbors, doctors, landlords and a priest.

Manoj Kumar and Pradeep Kumar have been arrested on suspicion that they used chocolate to lure the 5-year-old into Manoj Kumar's apartment, where they raped, tortured and tried to murder her.

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